Alcohol’s Hunt
by YinYangDarkLight
Summary: In finding that Kudo Shinichi may still be alive, the Black Organization hires Mouri Kogoro to investigate his disappearance. Now, Shinichi must keep Mouri from finding out what happened to him. Shouldn't be too hard, right?
1. Chapter 1

_A.N. Hello peeps! Welcome to my first Detective Conan/ Case Closed fanfiction! I've only stumbled onto the show recently and am still working on getting into some of the characters heads. So, if I mess anyone up, let me know, kay?_

_Oh, and I'm trying to think of a better title, idea's welcome!_

_Update: 3/18 - Sorry for being gone so long guys. But I'm back and chapter four is almost finished (YAY). I've said before that I was working on changing the dubbed names to their Japanese names and here it is. Not much else has changed except for a word here and a phrase there. Hope you enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan/ Case Closed. And no, that isn't Kaito Kid tied up in my closet (shifty eyes). _

Alcohol's Hunt

Chapter One

The banquet hall was almost silent. Only scattered whispers were heard from people wondering what could have happened to the late Yamaha Kazuo. The man had just hung himself to death from the balcony floor in the middle of a party he and his wife Hitomi were holding.

"I don't see why we have to stay here if it's obvious this was a suicide," Shiokawa Jiro said, sticking his nose in the air. His girlfriend, Chino Miya sat in a chair nearby rubbing her aching feet, nodded in agreement with the statement. Various other guests murmured their wishes to leave as well.

Inspector Megure gritted his teeth in frustration at the guests. Why was it always like this? Every time someone died, everyone wanted to scatter so not to be blamed, even if it was a suicide. But Megure had to look into it incase there was some sort of fraud in the case. Rich men didn't hang themselves every day and every possible viewpoint had to be taken.

Luckily, there was a detective looking in to the whole situation. Too bad that detective wasn't Kudo Shinichi. Megure turned to glare at the now famous Detective Mouri Kogoro, whose luck seemed to change the moment Shinichi got called off to that mysterious case he'd been working on for months.

"Have you found anything yet, Mouri?" Megure asked somewhat impatiently as well. Mouri had brought his good luck charms with him. Ran, his daughter, must have come to keep an eye on the troublesome Conan. Megure stifled a chuckle. He liked the boy. Reminded him somewhat of Shinichi with the way the boy could point out clues that no one else had noticed. The inspector wondered if all the cases he was brought to, or involved with had somehow affected him in anyway. Seeing so many dead bodies at such a young age couldn't be healthy.

"Well," Mouri said, looking down at the body, "this definitely is a suicide. That's the only way that this is possible."

"Hey, Inspector," Conan yelled, "why do his pants look so funny?" Intrigued, Megure looked to where the boy was pointing. The dress pants Yamaha was wearing had small indention marks and a crease in the middle of them.

He was about to dismiss what the boy pointed out when Shiokawa pushed his way past Conan to look at the body himself. "I don't see why we have to stay here. The detective said it was suicide." The man pointed a finger at Mouri.

"Actually, I've just changed my mind." Both Megure and Shiokawa whirled around to face the now seated Kogoro Mouri. "Yamaha Kazuo was murdered."

A collective gasp was heard by the crowd of guests and people started talking at once.

"Who did it? Who killed my husband," Hitomi's small voice was barely heard above the noise. She took a frantic step toward Mouri before falling back to where she stood. Her hands clasped around her necklace.

"How was he murdered, Mouri?" Megure shouted above the noise of the crowd who was instantly silenced to hear the detective's answer.

"Take a closer look at his pants," said Mouri. "As Conan said, there is something off about them."

The inspector nodded and folded his arms, "Yeah, they look as though they had clothespins attached to them. What's so important about that?"

"That's right. The pants had a clothespin attached to them. But what's off about this case is not only how many indentions there are but the direction they face."

Mouri's audience was gravitated to the story he was telling. They had heard about the Great Detective before and were rather excited about what he was going to come up with.

Megure looked back down at the pants and noticed something, "Hey, there's only one set of indentions!"

"Don't you think it's a bit odd for someone to hang clothes to dry by only one clothespin? And in that direction as well. Normally when a person hangs their clothes to dry, the pins would be place vertical so the clothes will stay on the line. This pin, however, was place horizontal."

Shiokawa's impatience got to him again. "What does that have to do with anything, detective. So the guy was drunk, spilled something over his pants and hung it to dry in a weird way. So what?"

"Actually, Shiokawa-san, it has everything to do with the hanging."

Ran tapped Megure on the shoulder, "Hey, have you seen Conan-kun?" He looked around and shook his head. The boy must have seen a butterfly or something and wandered off.

Mouri continued, "But that's only the first clue in many. Let me back track.

"Yamaha-san is an avid drinker. During the party, he got not just drunk but extremely tired. The reason for the weariness he was feeling was because the murderer put poison in his scotch after he got drunk enough not to notice the difference of taste. The poison is what killed him. He was dead before he fell off the balcony. Obviously the murderer was hoping the body would not have an autopsy or at least be far enough away that they would not be blamed."

"But Detective," Chino Miya said standing up, "if he didn't jump, how is it that he fell when I opened the door." She twirled a finger around one of her long auburn curls.

"He didn't fall when you opened the door. He fell when you turned on the fan."

The woman looked shocked, "But what does that matter?"

"When we were in the room investigating what happened, I noticed something strange about the fan. Without anyone turning off the fan, the blades stopped turning and there is the clothespin still wound around it. The murderer intended to get the fishing wire back before anyone noticed, but things obviously didn't work out the way she planned."

Megure banged his fist against the low-rise bookshelf he was standing next to, "Alright Mouri, out with the name already!" he shouted.

In a dramatic voice, Mouri said, "The murder is…"

* * *

"You shouldn't go running off like that Conan-kun," Ran lectured at the second grader who was currently looking happily out the car window. She suspected everything she was telling him was going in one ear and out the other. Luckily, she knew how to get his attention. After all, his mother did say he had a crush on her, "You had me really worried."

His blue eyes me hers, "I'm sorry Ran-neechan, but do you know how big that guy's game room was?" Those blue eyes that reminded her so much of Shinichi pleaded for her to forgive him.

"Well next time tell me. I don't mind going with you," she said before facing the front of the car again. She glanced at her father who was still gloating about the case. "Dad, how did you know that Yamaha-san killed her husband? I know it had something to do with the fan, but how did you know she was the last one to mess with it?"

"I told him!" Conan chirped from the back seat. Obviously he was quite proud of his accomplishments.

Kogoro glared in the rearview mirror at his forced charge, "And what exactly was it you told me?"

Ran could hear the small groan before Conan answered, "Remember? We were in the bedroom and I said-"

"Oh never mind!" Kogoro cut him off.

Ran giggled as her father glared out the window. She turned to look at Conan and was caught by his facial expression. The pursed lips, narrow eyes and the single raised eyebrow looked exactly like the expression Shinichi wore whenever he thought someone was an idiot for various reasons. Ran turned back in her seat and watched the scenery pass, old suspicions rising anew. But it was impossible for Shinichi to have turned into Conan.

The rest of the ride home resumed in an uncomfortable silence. At least, she thought so. Her dad just glared at the road, sulking somewhat and Conan happily kicked the backseat with little kid energy. Ran sighed. No, he couldn't be Shinichi.

By the time they reached the house it was well past Conan's bedtime. Like all other children, he refused to admit he was tired even though he was yawning and could barely keep his eyes open. Ran laughed.

"You are to tired," she said tucking him in and smiled. "I promise. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner the sun will come up and you can wake up!"

Conan nodded sleepily and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. Ran's smile faded. So much like Shinichi, just younger. She sighed, closed the door quietly and walked to her father's office where she heard the door open and close. The last customer of the day had just arrived.

* * *

As soon as his door was closed, Shinichi threw off his covers and rushed to the door, opening it silently. Ran's retreating figure turned the corner to walk down the stairs. He had heard the car pull up to the building and knew that there was another client Kogoro needed help with.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, and watching out for the creaking one near the bottom, Shinichi peered through the crake in the door and saw something he had hoped to never see.

One of the men in the black clothes, Gin, was standing in front of Kogoro's desk with a case. This could not be good! Did the Black Organization find him? Were they here to collect him and finish him off like they thought they did all those months ago?

Calming his racing heart, Shinichi silently told himself he did not have all the facts and would have to know why the man was here before he jumped into action. Having learned from past mistakes, Shinichi glanced around the hall to make sure there was no one sneaking up behind him before he focused on the interaction between Kogoro and Gin.

"How can I help you?" Kogoro shouted happily.

Gin held out a picture to show the detective. "I'm looking for this kid."

Kogoro stared at the picture, his jaw hanging open in shocked belief. After a moment, he pulled himself together and gawked at the man before him. "Why?"

Sitting down to make himself more comfortable, Gin gave his answer. "He was working on a very important case for my company for the past few months. Last week, he told us he had a very important lead and needed some key information to take with him. We trusted him knowing that he had his reputation as a detective to worry about and he had been working for us for quite a while, trying to solve the case for us. We gave him the information he wish for and we have not heard from him since. It is imperative that we find him. Even if he no longer works on the case for us, we need that information."

Shinichi gulped, fearful of who was in the picture, knowing who it had to be. Don't assume anything! You don't know who is in the picture yet! He screamed to himself.

"What was the case he was working on for you?" Kogoro asked.

"Unfortunately, I cannot disclose that information to you until we have what he took."

Kogoro nodded in understanding, still staring at the picture. Shinichi caught movement somewhere else in the room and noticed a curious Ran step behind her father to look at the picture as well. Just like her father, her jaw dropped and her face blanched at the photo. She gaped at Gin, opening and closing her mouth a few times before finally asking her question.

"Shinichi's been working for you?"

The man nodded and fear gripped Shinichi's heart. How much did they know? Did they know what the poison they gave him did? Did they know that he had shrunken to the size of a second grader? Did they know that Haibara had grown small and they suspected he did too?

Again, he had to reel in his runaway thoughts. It could be that they just wanted to find his body to make sure he was dead and wouldn't run to the police with information. After all, it wasn't like his death was ever reported and as famous as he was, it would have been. As bad of news that was, it would be better than knowing he was masquerading as Conan Edogawa.

"Yes, I'll take the case for you," he heard Kogoro say.

"I appreciate your help and I promise you will be paid generously for this."

Suddenly, Shinichi saw a pair of very nicely shaped legs step into the doorway and looked up to see Ran glaring at him. "Conan-kun, what are you doing out of bed?"

Thinking fast, Shinichi lowered his eyelids and stared dazed at her, "I was thirsty," he replied.

Ran sighed and grabbed Shinichi's hand to lead him to the kitchen just as Gin walked out the door and spotted them. His cold eyes lingered on Shinichi for a while before he smirked "You should listen to your big sister and get some sleep kid. Otherwise, you won't be the top of your game. And then what could happen?"

Scared that the man might figure out who he was if he wasn't careful, Shinichi just let his "tired" expression turn more confused. Gin's smile grew as he grabbed the brim of his hat in a salute to Ran and left the office.

Ran led Shinichi to get his drink of water and put him back to bed. This time around, Shinichi played the act of a sleepy child that didn't have his bearings too well.

As she tucked him in for the second time that night he truly wondered how much the Black Organization knew about him.

This was bad!

* * *

_A.N. And thus concludes the first chapter of Alcohol's Hunt. I want you to know that when I get reviews, I read them and treasure them. They boost my ego and make me spit out chapters faster. Also, what you say can affect the story. If you want something to happen tell me and I will take it into consideration. I have another story that has drastically changed (for the better, I think) because of reviews. In other words, please review. They make me happy._

_Until next time! _

_-Yinnie_


	2. Chapter 2

_A.N. (jaw drops) O.O Wow! 10 reviews? … That's great! So many! Thank you, thank you! And a couple of you mentioned Gin's behavior in last chapter. You've made your point and I'll get around to fixing it... eventually. Thank you for bringing it to my attention._

_Thank you: Mat49324, Horselvr4evr123, Dire Moonstone, s2lou, Frog85, EffisheiRan, Elaienar, TopazledHannah-kun, heijikunismine and Fauxmon_

_Well, on to the next chapter! … I hope I don't disappoint. (laughs nervously)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan/ Case Closed and I keep telling people that I don't know where KID is. _

Alcohol's Hunt

Chapter Two

He was known as the famous detective Mouri Kogoro! It was said if he were at any crime scene, be it murder, theft, kidnapping or anything one might think of, he'd be the first to solve it. His uncanny ability to determine who the criminal was and why they committed the crime was extraordinary. No one seemed to know how he did it.

Especially him!

So it was natural to assume the return of Kudo Shinichi in his life was not something he really wanted to think about. When the boy was in Tokyo, he was the one the police turned to whenever they had a tough case. Just call Kudo and the case would be as good as solved. Or at least, that's what the police seemed to think. Kogoro had other ideas about the boy.

Then he disappeared, Ran was upset and he managed to practically adopt another kid! Although Ran being upset was a bad thing and the kid was annoying, sticking his nose where it didn't belong, Kogoro's luck had turned for the better. With Kudo gone, people were offering _him_ jobs instead and he was finally able to catch up on rent.

Kogoro glared at the photograph in front of him with the cocky teen smirking back at him. So, the punk had run off with evidence on an important case? Kogoro smiled with glee. This would be great! He could find Kudo so Ran would be happy and in the mean time, he'd be securing his job. After all, if Kudo had the reputation of running out on cases, he wouldn't get a client and if he wasn't there to solve the cases, people would continue coming to Kogoro, the real detective, for help and not just some punk kid.

Kogoro put the photo down and thought about his investigation of the teenage detective. All he had to do was find him and he already knew how he was going to do that. It wasn't going to be hard either. There were a few people that the kid stayed in contact with even though he was God knew where.

Smiling at his ingenious ideas of catching the other detective, Kogoro went to work. It would take time, considering Kudo's been absent for months, but he would be able to do it. After all, he was the famous detective Mouri Kogoro, extraordinaire!

* * *

The classroom was silent save for the scratch of pencil lead on the test paper. Brows were furrowed in concentration as students worked out the math problems that were presented before them. Some student's glanced nervously at the ticking clock wishing there was more time. They had started out with a full half hour! Where had the time gone?

Shinichi glared at his test wanting to scream and tear it up. Feeling the hairs rise on the back of his neck, he turned to see Haibara watching him with what looked to be sadistic joy. He faced his test again only to meet the same question that vexed him so.

Eight times three equals going insane.

Each of the twenty questions just as annoyingly easy as the one before. Four times two, nine times five, six times seven. All the answers jumped at him so fast he had a hard time slowing down so as not to catch the teacher's attention. He scratched an unnecessary equation down to show is work. The sound of the other students writing the addition equations to figure out the multiple times table let him know that he should do the same.

Normally it wasn't this difficult to play the part of a child. All he had to do was stay quiet in class and answer questions with the wrong answer here and there. Even though all the kids knew he was one of the smartest kids in the class, the only true competition being Haibara, but it was the teacher he was worried about. If he started over excelling in school, it would draw attention he did not want.

Finally the teacher stood up and collected the test papers then allowed the kids to line up at the door to go to recess. Shinichi stood behind Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko and followed them through the hallway in a single, straight line. And because Genta had to proclaim loudly to Mitsuhiko about what he planned to do once they hit the playground, the whole class had to hold their index finger to their mouth with one hand and hold up the other hand with two fingers pointing toward the ceiling. The message of this strange behavior was that of peace and quiet. Shinichi had the feeling that the chills he was getting was from the icy glower of Haibara.

As soon as they were set free among the jumble jams, slides and swings, Genta turned in a sharp about face and cause Shinichi to run into him. "Okay, Shonen Tantei, we've got a case!" Shinichi grabbed his ear and shook it a bit. Didn't Genta know how to lower his voice?

Ayumi's eyes got big with excitement as she grasped her hands together. "Really Genta-kun? What is it?"

With a look of utmost importance and unwavering authority, Genta shouted his answer, "The case of the missing Kamien Yaiba card."

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi looked devastated, the fact that such an important and valuable card was missing was a very significant case. Shinichi gave a look of desperation to Haibara about finding a way to get out of doing this. He had more important things to think about and a Kamien Yaiba card was not one of them. But as per the norm, the girl seemed bent on making him suffer for no reason whatsoever. She gazed back at him with a look that clearly said she didn't care whatever they did. Shinichi's eye twitched. The woman could be a major bitch when she wanted to be.

"Whose card is it?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Mine!" Genta barked. His resolve seemed to waver and Shinichi could tell he was about to break down in tears. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko gasped in unison at the horrible news. "So, as you must know, we have to find it."

The other two children agreed wholeheartedly and thus Shinichi and Haibara were forced into the web of plans for what they were going to do after school. Ayumi kept asking "Conan" for his opinion about where to search and he told them the toy store would probably not yield any answers. It looked like he was going to have to help them out if only keep them out of trouble. Haibara found the whole thing funny and would probably let the kids run into a ditch if they thought the card was in it.

Besides, the more he stayed away from Kogoro, the less likely he would come to figuring out the truth.

Not that he would anyway.

* * *

"So that's where your husband's been," Sonoko took a loud slurp from her milkshake. Ran had just finished telling her about the new case her father had. One that Ran had mixed emotions about. Things made more sense now. The man in black creeped her out and she recognized him from somewhere. Shinichi must have not wanted her involved because he felt the man was dangerous.

And then there was the fact that he had supposedly run away from a case. Ran had known Shinichi for a long time and knew that he would never leave a case unsolved and if he did solve it, he would be sure to turn it over to the police. If he was working for the company as the man had claimed, then Shinichi must have found out something significant and probably illegal. Maybe it was some sort of syndicate the man was involved in and Shinichi had only wanted to protect her by not ever coming to visit. He didn't want to lead it all to her!

But she also wanted to see Shinichi. It had been five months since his he ran off from her saying he'd be back. While it was true that he did call her periodically and she even saw him a couple of times, the calls weren't nearly long enough and she still hadn't gotten a chance to kick his butt for leaving in the first place. She missed him!

She had turned all these thoughts over in her head during her sleepless night and told Sonoko only the man's story, not her own worries.

"He's not my husband!" Ran said through clenched teeth.

"You say that all the time but then you'll end up getting this dreamy look in your eyes afterwards," her friend pointed out. She clasped her hands together in a mock prayer and gazed skyward, "Oh, when is Shinichi coming back? I miss him so. I hope he comes back soon, so we can make passionate love!"

Ran snatched the milkshake from Sonoko's fingers and glared, her face heating up. "For the last time, Shinichi is _not_ my husband."

"Whatever. I can tell by your blush that you wish he was," Sonoko said as she grabbed her treat back. "Anyway, I still think he could have let you know what was going on."

Ran sighed and put her face in her hands, "I'm worried about him now."

Sonoko looked up from trying to get a strawberry through the straw. "Why?"

"You know Shinichi. He wouldn't runaway from anything. The fact that he did this time means he's in trouble."

Sonoko walked around the cafeteria table to sit next to her friend rather than across. She grabbed Ran's hands and stared at her until she looked up. "Listen to me Ran. I'm sure Shinichi-kun is okay. Maybe he just got sidetracked by a Conan Doyle book or something." Ran huffed a laugh. "And if he really is in trouble, he's solved a lot of cases which means he knows how people think. I'm sure he can easily hide from danger until he's able to confront it."

Those words didn't sooth Ran's fear too much and Sonoko sighed. "My point is, even if he doesn't tell you absolutely everything, he's a big boy and can take care of himself. He'll come back."

Ran nodded her head and wondered if Sonoko believed anything she was saying, or if she was just trying to make her feel better. She thought it best not to ask in case it was the latter.

"I know!" Sonoko exclaimed. "We should go boy hunting at the mall! Boy hunting for me of course," she corrected herself.

Ran smirked, "I thought you wanted Kaito Kid."

"Of course I do. But I figure the guy doesn't run around in white clothes _all_ the time. So now starts my search of his true self." Sonoko stated standing up and leaving the lunchroom.

"Okay, but how will you know it's him?" Ran asked following her friend. She smiled at the silly antics her friend was showing.

"Hun, as I'm sure you know, true love will recognize itself no matter what!" Laughing together the two girls headed to class.

* * *

_I thought about putting another section right here but decided against it. Maybe next chapter…_

_Again, I hope I live up to what seems to be your expectations. I'm pretty excited for what's to come in this story myself and it being my first mystery type story, it's gonna be a challenge. I hope you enjoy and I love repeat reviewers as well (hinthint). Until next time!_

-Yinnie


	3. Chapter 3

_A.N. (takes a deep breath for this is going to be long) First off I want to thank all my reviewers for that wonderful praise that makes me so happy. Although I did turn red with embarrassment at what TopazledHannah-kun_ _pointed out. I'm sorry! That was actually a note for myself to find out what the card name was and put it in… hehe, I guess I forgot. That happens a lot, especially when I get excited about finishing a chapter and I want to post as soon as it's written. Work or no! Anyway, thanks for letting me know. It's fixed now. XD Also, thanks to Elaienar for pointing out a grammatical error. I try to keep those to a minimum and it helps when people catch what I don't. As for my other reviewers, thank you Fauxmon, Mat49324, EffisheiRan, euqseruam, and heijikunismine. I love you all!_

_Anyway, um, I feel like talking, so I'm going to. This is fairly unimportant unless you want background info to the story. First off, I want to say I am going to avoid writing from the view of children from now on. It's harder than I thought. And as for the thing that Genta has. It's a plot bunny. Probably should have been put in as a one shot in another story but I couldn't resist. It made me smile._

_But y'all probably didn't care about that and I'm worded out… until the end of the chapter. XD Have fun!_

_Disclaimer: I've finally got the master plan of making Kaito Kid mine! But as it stands right now, nope, none of 'em are mine._

Alcohol's Hunt 

Chapter Three 

"It's not here either," Genta whined as he searched his bookshelf. Per Conan's advice, the young detectives started from the beginning. The last place Genta remembered his card being was on his dresser. So they searched every corner of the room and created a small mess that Genta made them clean up before doing anything else. Couldn't let his mother find such a mess. 

The large boy heaved a giant sigh before dropping to the ground in a defeated sigh. It was useless. He was never going to find his prized card again! 

"Are you sure this is the last place you had it?" Genta looked up to see Conan staring intently at him. 

The young boy glared at his smaller friend. "I'm not an idiot. Of course I remember where I left my most favorite card!" How could Conan even imagine he didn't know where he left it? That was one of the most insane thoughts he ever had. Genta gathered new determination. "It must have been stolen." 

All of his friends stared at him. Two of them with dropped jaws. Genta didn't fret about the other two not being shocked. Conan and Haibara rarely were and they must have arrived to that answer a long time ago. After all, the two of them were the smartest people he ever met. 

"Who do you think did it?" Ayumi asked. Genta's mood shifted up a bit at her worry. She cared for him! She truly did! 

Standing up to show his shorter friends that this was his one and only conclusion, the large boy answered. "The only one who could have stolen my Kamien Yaiba card is the one and only," he paused to emphasize his point, "KAITO KID!" 

The room was silent after the declaration for a moment before Mitsuhiko laughed. Genta glared at his skinny friend before Mitsuhiko finally stopped enough to look at him and give his explanation. "Do you really think that the phantom thief would come and steal your card? You didn't even get a warning note and every one knows Kaito Kid always leaves a riddle before stealing something." 

Genta balled his hand in a fist and shook it at his nerdy friend, "You have any better ideas?" 

"Well, the last place you remember it being was on your dresser. Maybe your mom came in to dust and put it away." 

The matter of fact tone Mitsuhiko was using made Genta even angrier. But before he could say anything he heard Haibara's voice. 

"Is this it?" In her hand, the girl was holding his treasured Kamien Yaiba card. 

Genta ran to Haibara and snatched the card from her hands to hold in his own. "Where did you find it Haibara-chan?" 

The girl smirked and Genta remembered his first impression of her. The girl was stuck up had the devil inside of her. 

"Under your bed," her smirk widened. "Next to this." She held up her other hand which was previously behind her back. What was held in her hand made Ayumi laugh in delight, Mitsuhiko laugh in hysterics and Conan's eyes to widen considerably. 

Genta blushed deeply before snatching the offending stuffed rabbit and shoving it in the dresser behind him. 

"Wait Genta-kun, let me see him!" Ayumi bounded to the dresser and pulled out the old stuffed animal. "He's so cute. What's his name?" 

Her big blue eyes looked up happily into his and he felt the barriers fall down even if he did hear Mitsuhiko in the background laughing is butt off. He smiled a little. The rabbit made her so happy and Genta liked to see Ayumi happy. Especially when he was the cause of it. 

Mitsuhiko finally pulled himself together, "Why do you have a stuffed animal, Genta?" he started sniggering again, "Do you need it when you go to sleep?" 

Conan was watching the whole thing looking as if he didn't know to laugh or be annoyed. Haibara moved off and stood next to him with her arms folded and watched with interest. Ayumi stood next to Genta holding his stuffed rabbit close, her eyes tearing up at the fight she was sure to happen while Mitsuhiko continued to laugh. 

The teary look in Ayumi's eyes stopped him from going after the skinny snot. He put his hands behind his head and walked out of the room, "I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat." 

Mitsuhiko stared after him with the others for a while. Shocked that his jesting didn't get much rise out of his friend. Noticing a small touch on his arm, he turned to see Haibara next to him giving him one of her blankest looks. As much as he liked her, she could sure be creepy. He smiled a little and laughed nervously, "Almost would have been a fun show, huh?" 

The girl before him huffed a small laugh and smiled before running after the other three. 

Mitsuhiko smiled. That's why he liked her so much. She was a mystery and he was a detective. And detectives loved to solve mysteries. 

* * *

Shinichi and Haibara had walked home without their usual escort of gabby kids. It was nice to be able to walk and talk to someone he didn't have to guard himself against. After all, the other teen turned kid was in the same shoes as he. 

They walked slowly to their favorite doctor's house. If Ran got worried about him, Agasa's house was one of the first places she'd look. So he was rather safe from having her worry too much and possibly grounding him. Shinichi shuddered. She'd done that once and he knew if she set her mind to something, it was extremely hard to escape, no matter how many tricks he pulled.

He had finally gotten a chance to tell Haibara about Gin hiring Kogoro. Her eyes widened with the fabricated story the blond had given. She grasped the straps of her backpack and watched the ground pass slowly by as she walked. Whenever the girl reacted this way to any news, Shinichi knew something was bad. Without saying anything, she was telling him things were worse than he feared. 

"You say he saw you?" she asked, Shinichi nodded. "How was the lighting?" 

Thinking back to the other night he remembered the light streaming through the office door and the light coming in from the street through the blinds. "It wouldn't be wise to read in it, but other than that, it was fine." 

She nodded her head at the information. Since she came from the organization herself, he thought it would be best to find her plan of action first. She'd be able to give him some direction about how to survive this, at the very least. 

"I don't think they know you've shrunk," she said after a few minutes of walking. "He would have shot you on the spot if he did. It was private enough." 

Shinichi realized he was dizzy because of the breath he was holding. It was a relief they did not know he was Conan and she was Haibara. That would be disastrous to both of them of the organization knew what could happen with that poison. 

"But I'm sure they know both of us are alive. If they are searching for you now, then they would have found my misinformation that I put in their system." She glared sharply at him, "You are not to do any detective work for a while,_ Edogawa-kun._" 

Taken aback by the sudden change in tone, Shinichi sputtered for a moment before gaining his senses back. "What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded. They had just arrived at Agasa's house. 

The girl with the 18-year-old mind studied him for a moment before answering, "If Mouri were to find out that you were who you are, what would he do? I know for a fact that he doesn't like Kudo Shinichi." 

Shinichi stayed quite and Haibara interpreted that silence with its right meaning. "If you don't want to burn, Kudo; keep your nose out of the fire." Her gaze shifted behind him, "Your girlfriend's here." 

Shinichi turned to see Ran walking towards him on the sidewalk. She waved happily at him and he said his goodbyes to Haibara before putting on his child's face and chasing after Ran. 

* * *

Haibara watched him go before entering the house and running to her part of the lab. She had to work on the antidote and hurry! Not wanting to cause the detective anymore worries than he had, she held back on what she thought. It would be best if he continued as normal as possible. Just not get mixed up in Mouri's cases and he would be good to go. 

She had the distinct feeling the organization knew who he was. The fact that he wasn't a red smear on the carpet only told her they were up to something. She turned on her computer and waited for it to boot up.

It was then she noticed something strange in the house. Where were the clinks of glass test tubes? The smell of singed hair? The noise from the explosions? 

Haibara turned to look around the empty lab. She listened to the empty house hoping to hear the tell tale creak of the floorboards to prove someone was in that house besides her. 

Where was Agasa? 

She walked around the house for a little while, calling his name. Normally she wouldn't care if the old man was out and about doing things. He often was so that shouldn't come to a surprise to her. 

No, nothing was wrong, Haibara told herself. She was just jumpy because of what Shinichi told her about the company looking for him. Nothing was out of the ordinary at all. 

Shaking her head, Haibara repeated those words trying to convince herself as she walked back to her computer. 

Only, someone was already seated at the desk. 

The man smiled coldly at her before taking a flash drive from her computer, his eyes never leaving hers. 

"Y-you!" Haibara stuttered, shocked to see him. 

"Miss me, Sherry?" 

* * *

He had known something was amiss when he saw the two children walking close together speaking in hushed voices so he decided to follow them. Recognizing one of them he smiled in delight. It was the perfect chance for a little payback time with the tantei. 

But then something caught his eye. Another was watching the two with the same cryptic eye and the intent more dangerous. The other started to follow the children and he decided it was for the best if he followed as well, if only for the safety of the preoccupied kiddos.

* * *

_Hm… not too sure how I feel about this chapter. But I couldn't think of any other way to write it. Also, I'm running into a bit of a problem. I don't know much about the characters in the Organization (only what Wikipedia manages to tell me). I don't have a lot of money so I can't buy all the manga and anime all at once just to jump in the characters skin and write them. I've searched on youtube and veoh for episodes with them in it but have been unsuccessful. I'm asking for help here. Otherwise I'll just take Vicious from Cowboy Bebop and pretend that he's Gin and Gretchen from Prison Break to use as Vermouth and other mean characters that I can think of from various series. But anyway…_

_-Yinnie_


	4. Chapter 4

_A.N. Well folks, I'm sorry to say that this chapter is very short. Extremely short. In fact about half of what has previously been posted. I've been hanging on to this for a while but then it nothing was coming up for this chapter anymore and all ideas for more are best to post in a different chapter. I truly am sorry and hope that next chapter will not be as short._

_Thank you all for those wonderful reviews! I really do appreciate all the help you've given me and checked out the sites!_

_Thank you Fauxmon, 30Kyu, TopazledHannah-kun, Sakura no Umi, Mat49324, dopple, Elaienar, Stellardrift, heijikunismine, J-Kid, Immortal-Sacrifice, isadorathegreat and hittocerebattosai. Your reviews are all kept close to my heart!_

_**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**__ I'm going away for a while. I've decided that I can't pay for college by myself and so have signed up for the Air Force. While I am excited about this, Basic and Tech school are going to put a damper on stories. I will try to get another chapter out before I leave, but I'm busy packing my apartment into a storage unit and making sure all my bills will be taken care of while I don't have access to a computer. I do not know how long this hiatus will last, but I can say it will be at least three months if not more. I hope when I update afterwards, you will still be interested in reading about what is going to happen._

Alcohol's Hunt

Chapter Four

It was actually quite rare for Ran to be angry this long. Usually her anger was brief and to the point. A quick pain that one would have to endure before they were forgiven for whatever transgression they may have made.

Kogoro was now remembering his daughter also had a lot of her mother in her. And right now she was proving how much of her mother's daughter she was. No dinner, no TV and no alcohol. His daughter even went as far as to pour all the elixir to his life down the drain.

It had started out as simple enough an evening. Ran went to pick the brat up from school or wherever he'd wandered off to, came home and started dinner. No one had been the wiser of what he'd been up to.

That is until previously stated brat noticed something that wasn't supposed to be there and made a comment about it. When Conan told Ran about it and who it must before, his little girl suddenly wasn't so little anymore as she wheeled around to face him. If he wasn't her father, he swore she would have beaten him into a pulp.

Try as he might to explain that it was the fastest way for him to find out where Kudo was, whenever the kid might call that is, and thus the best way for him to continue to pay rent, she would not listen. Not to his pitiful attempts to ease her anger. Not to his parental duties as a father. Not even to the fact that this would help pay for the rent.

But the fact that was tapping into all the conversations on her cell phone was not appreciated for what he was trying to do.

So here he sat at his desk as if he were being grounded with no beer, no dinner and no Yoko. Life, he decided, could not get worse.

* * *

Haibara stared at the man sitting at her desk. But she recognised the expression of a woman she feared. "Y-you!"

Vermouth slipped the flash drive into her pocket as she stood up to face the shrunken scientist before her and smiled. "Miss me Sherry?" she asked in a mocking tone. Haibara didn't answer and the actress sighed, "It's alright little Sherry. I'm not going to kill you today."

The glare from the girl intensified, "What do you want, Vermouth?"

Vermouth let out a soft chuckle before casually walking over to Agasa's desk and studying the strange contraption on it. "The Organization doesn't know about the drug," she smiled and turned to face her, "yet."

Yet? What did she mean by yet? Haibara tried to ask the question but the words refused to come out. Vermouth took the silence as stubbornness, "Well, if you must know, I'm here to offer a truce."

Haibara looked doubtful, "A truce? _You_ want to offer a truce?"

Vermouth laughed at her tone, "Don't act so surprised, we both have something the other wants." She reached into her inner coat pocket and pulled out a small notepad that Haibara could recognize if she touched it in the dark. After all, scientists always wrote their formulas down and this one had taken the girl a long time to create. It would make creating the antidote much faster and quicker if she had that notebook and the information within.

But it didn't take a genius to figure out that the woman before her would want something she considered equal value in return.

"And what is it you want in exchange?" Haibara asked.

Vermouth opened the notebook, tore out the first few pages and dropped them on Agasa's desk before turning to leave.

"Why my dear little scientist," she put the rest of the notes back in her pocket, "How would I be a woman if I didn't have my own little secrets? I'll let you think about it." And with that, the assassin left the room and promptly disappeared from the house.

Haibara was too shocked to go after her or even move for that matter. Her shaking legs finally gave way and let her crumple to the floor.

What could she possibly want from her? The thought rolled around in her head. She looked at one of the pages of the notebook that had fallen to the floor. Why would she help the creation of the antidote?

* * *

He didn't have a plan when he started following the two, but when Conan left with Ran he felt there was no more danger left for the little guy. But unfortunately he knew the other was still around and probably watching the little girl Conan had been walking with.

He was just opening a window to get inside when an American walked out from the front door to the neighbors house and casually lit a cigarette. He watched as a shiny black Porsche pulled up in front of the house next door and the woman, acting as if coming out of _that _house, got inside.

Preoccupied by trying to get the whole license plate number, he didn't realize someone had snuck up behind him until he felt the gun pressed against his head.

"I'm glad to have finally found you, Kudo-san." A sinister voice said.

Kaito Kuruba gulped with a nervousness he wasn't used to having and followed the direction the gunman wanted him to go in.

* * *

_Hahaha! And I bet you thought it was going to be Gin that was sitting at the desk! Or maybe not. I don't know._


	5. Chapter 5

_A.N. Okay folks, I was able to get another chapter out! YAY for me! I'm leaving tomorrow for Basic so I'll try not to leave too bad of a cliffy (but knowing me, I will as I love 'em so much!)_

_Thank you Mat49324, TopazledHannah-kun, Elaienar, hittocerebattosai, animegirl37, Immortal-Sacrifice, Sakura no Umi, isadorathegreat, Fauxmon, DarkWolfYoukai860, starfruit-22, Jho, ShonaiulaRose, Marie Ravenclaw, blahrius and Kyuuki-sama. I LOVE YOU ALL! You make me happy! And also thank you to all the people who have favorited this story. I LOVE YOU GUYS TOO!f_

_Disclaimer: Kaito Kid managed to slip through the knots of the rope I tied around him and also stole all my left shoes out of spite. I wonder if I can trick Akoko into helping me out with this… nah, didn't think so._

Alcohol's Hunt

Chapter Five

It was a good dream. One of his better ones in fact, since he didn't have liquor in his system to give him any of those weird dreams. This one had even consisted of Yoko-chan! She was singing a song about the time when…

The phone rang, startling him out of his sleep. Glaring at the offending item, he considered not answering it. Unfortunately the person on the other line could be a paying client, and Kogoro still needed to work. Even without alcohol.

"Mouri Detective Agency, how can I help you?" he said in a gruff voice making the words sound more hostile than polite.

"May I speak to Edogawa-kun?" a girl's voice asked. There was only one friend of the brat's that could be so professional. Normally he would have yelled at the kid for calling before acquiescing to the request. But that little girl was one exception. He ignored her as often as he could given mainly to the fact that whenever he did do something to warrant her attention, her blatant stare gave him the creeps.

Leaving the phone without giving her an answer, the detective walked over to the couch where the little boy was sleeping with his finished homework stacked neatly in a pile next to him. Kogoro had to admit that the brat finished his homework unusually fast and he was forced to admit the kid was smarter than he wanted to let on.

Without abandon, he picked up Conan with one arm and enjoyed the squawk that came with someone being woken up in such a disconcerting manner. "Don't you have a cell phone?" The boy blinked owlishly at him as if trying to determine if Kogoro was speaking Japanese or not and did not answer.

Kogoro dragged Conan over to the phone and thrust it in his hands before setting himself back down at his desk, his every intention of going back to sleep.

"Moshi moshi?" He heard Conan say. His voice was crisp and clear as if he hadn't been asleep. Kogoro even turned to see that the blank look the boy had earlier was rapidly receding. "Oh sorry about that, the battery must have run out." Kogoro was about to close his eyes when another change in Conan's voice drew his attention.

"What?" Conan's voice was sharp and demanding. A tone he couldn't remember hearing from him before.

"What happened?" Kogoro heard the murmur of Haibara's voice on the other end speaking rapidly.

"Where's Agasa?" There was a slight pause as Conan listened to her answer. Great, the old man went missing while leaving a seven-year-old alone and now the little girl was panicking. She should probably be talking to an adult that would be able to calm her down instead of worrying another little kid.

Making his decision quick he snatched the phone out of Conan's hand, earning another squawk and instant whining, and pressed the receiver to his ear. He was about to say something consoling when the rapid murmur became clear through the earpiece.

"-searched everywhere, Kudo-kun. I told you, I don't know where he is!" But Kogoro didn't here the last sentence. He didn't notice that the girl on the other line had gone silent after realizing that Conan was no longer on the phone.

There were times when Kogoro had suspected the kid to be a genius. Every time he would suspect it, it would be shot down with Conan finally acting like the stupid little kid he was, still unable to tie his shoelaces (not that he could verify that). But the idea that Conan was anyone other than who he said he was, Kudo especially, was-

"Ridiculous," he finally spat into the receiver of the phone only to realize it was only the dial tone he heard on the other line. He then noticed that Conan's whining for the phone had ceased and he looked down only to see Conan was no longer in the room.

Intent on going with his original plan, Kogoro grabbed his jacket and walked out the front door headed in the direction of that crazy scientist's house.

He hoped the doctor was okay though. If not, well he'd think about that later.

* * *

They reminded him of Snake with their dark clothing and insistence that he was someone he was not. Not that he made an attempt to correct them. The obviously wanted Kudo alive or they would have killed Kaito on the spot when they saw him. The three of them arranged themselves in the car to where he would not be able to escape.

Kaito sighed, this would be one time he would consider it a huge disadvantage to look so much like the teenaged detective.

And these people gave him the creeps. It was the American woman who freaked him out the most though. At first she had given a look of disbelief when she saw him, quickly covered in favor of an expressionless face until he saw a brief look of recognition followed by a Mona Lisa smile that only grew as time went by.

The car ride was silent as the three people in black made the teenager more and more nervous. It wasn't long before they pulled up to what looked to Kaito to be a research lab and the blond man yanked Kaito out of the car and dragged him towards the building.

Damn smart people and their death grips! Kaito thought as he gave an experimental tug. Even a flash bomb wouldn't work.

* * *

No matter where he called or what number he used, Agasa would not pick up. None of the Detective Boys knew where he was either. He had to pull every trick in the book not to have them too worried but he knew their never-ending curiosity would have started one of their investigations and there was nothing he'd be able to do to stop them.

Once he arrived at Agasa's, he found Haibara in her lab imputing information onto her computer from the pages she must have gotten from Vermouth.

"What do you think Vermouth is up to?" he asked knowing that the scientist already knew he was there. Haibara ignored him and continued to type. Shinichi sighed and leaned against the doorway. "Why would she help us?" His voice came out sounding more desperate and childish than he'd intended.

"What the hell is all this?" a booming voice demanded. Shinichi and Haibara both jumped and quickly turned around to find that Mouri had followed him to the house. The man was looking around in awe and Shinichi noticed Haibara quickly hide her work under a computer puzzle game.

Mouri finished his inspection of the room and looked down to face the cool looks over both shrunken teenagers. He then focused his gaze on Haibara. "Where's the old man?"

Haibara glared at him sideways before replying, "Shopping."

Mouri glared down at her. "And he left you here alone?"

"I'm seven, I can handle being alone for a few hours."

"Not on my watch." With that, he surprised both of them by snatching them up and dragging them away. "You're staying with me until the good professor comes home."

Great, Shinichi thought, now he gets responsible.

* * *

_A.N. (breaks into song) Cuz I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again._

_You know there's actually a pretty good AMV of Detective Conan to that song if anyone wants to check it out. Just go to youtube and look for Detective Conan Leaving on a Jet Plane. Oh, and for those of you who are running out of fanfiction to read, I found this good book that you may be interested in called Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams. Any Detective Conan fan would like that book. It's not about Detective Conan, but it does have similarities._

_I guess I'll see y'all on the other side!_

_Ja ne!_

_-Yinnie_


End file.
